Man on the Street
| ratings = 1.5/5 | IGN = 8/10 | AV Club = A | previous = "True Believer" | next = "Echoes" }} "Man on the Street" is the 6th episode of Dollhouse. It was written by Joss Whedon and directed by David Straiton. The episode aired on March 20th, 2009. Production "Man on the Street" was the 6th episode to go into production. Writing Joss Whedon said that writing "Man on the Street" was "a very simple thing. I wrote it faster than anything I've ever written. It just poured out of me. All of that brewing we'd been doing became the soup for that episode. It really was a game changer for us on set and in production. The cast and the staff read it and a lot of tumblers fell into place. That's how we felt about the episode. There may be a negativity associated with hyping it. But a lot of the following episodes really work on the model of "Man on the Street." It was a big moment for us. We found a new level and were really proud of it. Other people may feel differently, but we walked away from shooting that episode going OK, we've just added a layer and we feel pretty excited about it." Whedon also mentioned that this episode is explaining the premise of the show by "doing an episode that somebody who had never seen the show could walk in on because it explains the premise very clearly. In fact, it's about explaining the premise. At the same time, really getting under the skin of the dollhouse and of Paul's character and what's going on with everybody and the workings of the place and coming at it kind of sideways rather than just showing an engagement and flipping in some information around that engagement. This was one where we got to look at the cogs of the clock, and that's what gave it such momentum for us." As for having the network support the new direction the show takes after this episode, Whedon said: ""Man on the Street" definitely contains elements that were pitched by or developed by people at the network in terms of the motivations of "Dollhouse" and the feel of the politics of the thing and the thriller aspect. It wasn't like, "Oh, now they've shut up, and now we'll do it my way." It's very much the stuff they were pitching, but it also is storytelling-wise much more how I had envisioned coming at it. You know, to be only in a sense that is clearer than my original pilot. My original pilot was deliberately obtuse. You had to go along and figure it out .... We lay it out as simply as we did in the first five, but because we get to get inside the dollhouse and have the events take on more resonance, it's got what I had hoped to bring to the other episodes. It was really finding the code to a show that I can do my best work in and the network can still get behind. It was a meeting of the minds." Whedon also said that this episode marks the point where Dollhouse shifts from stand-alone episodes to a more serialized format of storytelling. Filming Filming started in the middle of October 2008 in West Hollywood. The gunfight was filmed on October 18th. Synopsis Echo becomes the perfect wife for a lonely internet mogul (guest star Patton Oswalt), and Sierra’s attacker is revealed, while a TV reporter prepares an exposé on the Dollhouse. Meanwhile, Mellie’s life is in danger and Agent Ballard’s investigation takes a surprising turn when he comes face-to-face and fist-to-fist with Echo for the very first time. Engagements Reception Cast & Crew Numerous interviews with Joss Whedon and the cast of Dollhouse mentioned "Man on the Street" as the episode that starts exploring the mythology of the show. Tahmoh Penikett said: "Once I read the fifth and sixth episode, specifically 6, the Whedon-penned 'Man on the Street,' I was like, 'This is it. This is the show.'" Eliza Dushku commented on the way the show progresses: "we’ve now done 13 episodes, and people have said that the show took off once they finally realized that Joss is best off left alone to do his thing. That happens around episode six—six through 13 are just extraordinary. I love one, two, three, four, and five, but Joss’ first script that he did after the pilot is number six, which is called “Man On The Street,” and it is just unbelievable. From that point on, the world unfolds in Joss’ way, with Joss’ speed, and it’s really remarkable." Joss Whedon said that "Man on the Street" (and "Needs") "represent a much stronger vision of what I consider the show to be." }} Critics Ratings "Man on the Street" reached a 2.6/5 Rating/Share, a 1.52/5 Rating/Share in the 18-49 demographic and a 1.8/5 Rating/Share in the 25-54 demographic. 57.69% of the audience was in the 18-49 demographic. The episode was watched by 3.591 million viewers Live, 4.142 million viewers Live+SD and 5.066 million viewers Live+7. The episode averaged a 1.25 Rating in the 18-49 demographic Live, a 1.52 Live+SD and a 2.03 Live+7. Overall "Man on the Street" had 1.475 million DVR viewers. 29.1% of all viewings of "Man on the Street" happened via DVR, that's the sixth greatest percentage of DVR viewing for broadcast TV shows of that week. The half-hour breakdown showed 4.22 million viewers and 1.5/5 (Rating/Share) in the demo between 9:01 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., and 4.04 million viewers and a 1.5/4 between 9:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. The quarter-hour breakdown: Cast Main cast *Eliza Dushku as Echo/Rebecca Mynor *Harry Lennix as Boyd Langton *Tahmoh Penikett as Paul Ballard *Fran Kranz as Topher Brink *Enver Gjokaj as Victor *Dichen Lachman as Sierra *and Olivia Williams as Adelle DeWitt Recurring roles *Amy Acker as Claire Saunders *Reed Diamond as Laurence Dominic *Miracle Laurie as November/Mellie *Mark Sheppard as Graham Tanaka *Liza Lapira as Ivy *Kevin Kilner as Joe Hearn *Aisha Hinds as Loomis Guest starring *Patton Oswalt as Joel Mynor *Patrick Stinson as Brett Locano *David Barry Gray as Bicks *Timothy Josefy as Blue Collar Guy *Katie Nisa as Blue Collar Guy's Wife *Katherine Jacques as Checkout Girl *Kaleti Williams as Head of Security *Dalton Grant as Conspiracy Theorist *Lydia Blanco as Housewife *Pam Trotter as Large Black Woman *Billy Beck as Old man *Karl Herlinger as Sketchy-looking Guy *Abby Cooper as Teen Girl *Jamie Silberhartz as Young Woman in Peasant Blouse *Erin Cummings as Staff Member Trivia *A reflection of a camera man is visible in the front of the oven when Ballard first confronts Rebecca and Joel. Music *'Memory Box' by Alessi's Ark plays while Ballard and Mellie eat Chinese food. *'Concerto For Oboe & Orchestra No. 11 in B-Flat Major, Op. 9: Adagio by Tomaso Albinoni plays during Mellie's attack. *'Sweet Dream' by Greg Laswell plays over the end montage of the episode when Echo requests to finish her engagement as Rebecca Mynor. Promotional Photos Image:Promo-manonthestreet-01.jpg Image:Promo-manonthestreet-02.jpg Image:Promo-manonthestreet-03.jpg Image:Promo-manonthestreet-04.jpg Image:Promo-manonthestreet-05.jpg Notes & references External links *"Man on the Street" at the Official Dollhouse Wiki *"Man on the Street" at tv.com *"Man on the Street" at IMDb 06